Aden Flint headed his first goal for
the club from a Marlon Pack corner
and Jay Emmanuel-Thomas issued a
further reminder of his ability to
punish defences with an unerring left
foot as City twice prised open the
home side in a first half they controlled for long spells.
And had Brendan Moloney’s injury-time shot crept under the crossbar instead of striking the underside
and staying out, few would have argued that City were not worth a share

8
● The number of league games that
City have gone without a win this
season
of the spoils. Those are the plus
points and, taken in isolation, they
suggest a first League win in six
months is not far away.
Yet City’s best efforts continue to be
undermined by their inability to
keep a clean sheet. Swindon scored
three goals and, once they imposed
themselves in the second half, could
easily have had five on a day when
they were missing three of their most
creative players through injury.
O’Driscoll has a reputation for deploying well-organised teams and he
will feel let down by the lapse in
concentration that permitted the
home side to poach their first equaliser from a throw-in. Nathan
Thompson launched the ball over the
head of an unsuspecting defender and
Nicky Ajose skipped past exposed
centre-back Derrick Williams to beat
Frank Fielding with an angled shot.
Similarly, when Massimo Luongo
went on a run along the edge of the
opposition penalty area, no defender
closed him down. It was too easy for

the midfielder to deliver a low cross
that travelled a long way before being
turned in by Ajose.
If City’s game-plan was to disrupt
Swindon’s supply lines and hustle the
home side out of possession, it
worked reasonably well during the
opening 45 minutes. O’Driscoll then
decided to deploy two banks of four
after the break to further frustrate
Mark Cooper’s team, only for the
move to backfire within five
minutes.
Having withdrawn Williams and
introduced another midfielder, City’s
head coach was presented with a
problem when James O’Connor
pulled up injured. Without a recognised centre-half on the bench, he
was forced to deploy left-back Greg
Cunningham at the heart of the back
four. While the Irishman made a good
fist of it, he was unable to prevent the
muscular Ranger from turning him
and smashing the ball into the roof of
the net in the game’s defining moment three minutes from time.
But then that is symptomatic of the
way things are going for City right
now. That said, teams make their own
luck to a large degree and, until they
can find a means to better protect
their own goal, the Robins will remain vulnerable.
City are being punished for their
failings in both penalty areas and a
number of promising attacking situations were squandered for the want
of a clinical final ball, notably when
substitute Joe Bryan was unable to
find Sam Baldock in space close to
goal when it was 2-2.
Such is the treadmill nature of the
English league, there is no time to
dwell on ifs, buts and maybes. City
must necessarily move on and
O’Driscoll will doubtless highlight
the positive aspects of his team’s
latest performance – and there were
many – in order to instil the belief
that Colchester United can be beaten
at Ashton Gate on Saturday.

Fan’s view with Matthew Withers

Referee

Shots on target

FOLLOWING two seasons of struggle
in the Championship, Bristol City
players and fans could be excused for
anticipating an easier ride in League
One.
Unfortunately for the Robins and
their followers, it has been a depressing case of more of the same.
If nothing else, a frustrating sequence of eight League games
without a win has caused everyone
connected with the club to recalibrate their expectations for the remainder of this season.
Far from comprising a multitude of
overtly-physical and technically-limited teams hell-bent on playing
long-ball football, the third tier has
shown itself to be full of surprises.
West rivals Swindon are merely the
latest in a procession of opponents to
have demonstrated a penchant for
playing attractive pass and move football at a high tempo. And as City will
testify after losing out to Nile
Ranger’s 87th-minute winner, the
third tier has quality players capable
of hurting even the best-organised
defences.
Lodged in the bottom four and still
searching for their first win, City are
being taught a chastening lesson;
there are no easy games at this
level.
While supporters stress, it is incumbent upon head coach Sean
O’Driscoll and his staff to fashion a
team and a style of play capable of
improving the club’s fortunes on the
pitch. And sooner rather than later.
While a majority of fans can be
relied upon to exercise patience and
remain on-side so long as they can see
progression, others have already lost
faith.
Rather than bellyache about the
overall situation, it is perhaps more
helpful to analyse performances
game by game. City may have lost a
blood-and-thunder derby by the odd
goal in five, but there was much to
admire in their work against a Swindon team expected to be challenging
for the play-offs.
O’Driscoll’s players put in a shift,
working hard off the ball, putting
their bodies on the line and displaying a level of commitment that
prompted many fans to stay behind
and show their appreciation after the
final whistle.
Enterprising in possession, the visitors also moved the ball quickly and
created sufficient goal-scoring opportunities to have won the game several
times over.

Away
3

5
4
11
1

I WOULD have been disappointed to
leave Swindon Town’s County
Ground with just a point on Saturday, but to have to walk out with
nothing was a real kick in the guts.
I witnessed 45 minutes of total
ineptitude on Tuesday night against
Shrewsbury Town and would go as
far as to say that it was one of the
worst performances that I had seen
in years. The improvement against
Swindon was clear to see, but we are
still searching for that first win of
the season.
The display against Shrewsbury

was hard to take, especially as it
followed a poor result against Peterborough at home just a few days
before. Ashton Gate is not an easy
place to play when things are not
going well.
I have never, and will never, boo
the team, but what I saw in that first
45 minutes was unacceptable. The
players showed no effort or energy
against a team who should not be a
match for us at this level with the
differences in finances and sizes of
clubs.
Fans pay their money and if some

choose to boo then that’s their right,
in the same way as it’s a fan’s right to
applaud the team off when they have
been poor. I will always take losing
when I see that the players have tried
and that was not the case in that first
45 minutes on Tuesday.
The atmosphere was negative on
Tuesday and the players have to give
the fans something to cheer about.
When they did the fans got right
behind them and City could so easily
have gone on to win the game.
The fans turned out in their numbers for the short trip up the M4 to

www.bristolpost.co.uk

Monday, September 23, 2013

at the back to secure first win

● Jay Emmanuel-Thomas

3

Swindon v City
match reaction
ADEN Flint insists it is only a
matter of time before City claim
that elusive first victory in
League One.
While he was bitterly disappointed not to leave the County
Ground with at least a point, the
big central defender felt the visitors performed well enough to
warrant a win.
And the former Swindon man
believes more performances
like that will eventually yield
the three points he and his
team-mates crave.
He said: “We have to keep the
faith and keep believing in what
we are doing, because some of
the football we played was excellent.
“It was nearly as we good as
we can be and we have to take
encouragement from that. If we
continue to work hard and play
like that, then that first win will
come eventually.
“This was a great game for the
neutral and for both sets of fans
as well. There were goals, lots of
shots on target and some really
good football played.

“

....................................................

People are always going
back to their old clubs and
scoring and it was nice to
get a goal

Aden Flint

.................................................................

● Brendan Moloney takes control

● Bristol City’s Aden Flint celebrates his side’s first goal against Swindon Town on Saturday

City couldn’t hold on and Williams
was caught out by a quick throw and
then lost his footing to gift Swindon
an equaliser. I’m still of the belief
that goalkeeper Frank Fielding is
struggling to find his best form and
while not at fault for any of the
Swindon goals, I’m not sure how
confident his defenders are in front
of him and I think Elliott Parish
should be given an opportunity.
The fans stayed behind the team
and were rewarded when this season’s
talisman
Jay
Emmanuel-Thomas scored another

wonderful strike. JET doesn’t lack
self belief, but I wish he showed a
desire to want to be involved and
dictate the game a little more.
What I mean by that is at this level
JET can be unplayable and can almost go past players at will and fire
in a thunderbolt of a shot, and yet he
only does this a few times in a game
when he should be doing it far
more.
Yet again, City couldn’t hold onto
the lead and more sloppy defending
allowed Swindon to snatch an
equaliser late in the first half. Both

● Sam Baldock is beaten in the air

teams played some decent football
in the second half and for the last 15
minutes halfway through the game
was there for the taking. I felt a
change was needed perhaps bringing Bobby Reid on. We didn’t and
sadly we were made to pay when
Nile Ranger held off Cunningham to
score the winner. There were positives to take out of the game, but we
need to show a higher tempo and
energy at home and if we do this
from the start and put our foot in
then the fans will get right behind
the team .

EPB-E01-S3

Swindon. The Swindon Robins have
been playing some decent football
and this was always going to be a
test for Sean O’Driscolls side. The
head coach opted to start with a
back three of Aiden Flint, Derrick
Williams and James O‘Connor with
Brendan Maloney and Nicky
Shorey operating as part of a
five-man midfield alongside Marlon
Pack, Marvin Elliott and Scott Wagstaff. Jay Emmanuel Thomas and
Sam Baldock played up top as a
pair.
Flint scored a decent opener, but

Pictures: Rogan Thompson

“We’ve kept the ball, we’ve
knocked it about well and we’ve
scored two good goals.
“We’ve played our part in a
really good game and deserved
to get something. We haven’t
and that’s disappointing, but we
just have to keep plugging
away.
“If we can improve on our
positioning at the back and stop
the opposition scoring, we will
win games playing like that.”
Flint gave City the lead and
refused to celebrate out of respect for Swindon’s players and
fans.
“It was on the cards that I was
going to score,” said Flint, who
climbed high at the back post to
head his first City goal from
Marlon Pack’s ninth-minute
cor ner.
“People are always going back
to their old clubs and scoring
and it was nice to get a goal. It
meant a bit more because it was
against Swindon, but it would
have meant even more had it
helped us get the result we
wanted.
“I’m not fussed about whether
I score or not, I’m more concerned about us getting that
first win.
“We’ve had enough chances
in the second half, but were
either in the right place at the
wrong time or could not get onto
the end of balls going into the
box.
“Then they go up the other
end and score a goal like that –
it’s heart-breaking.”

4

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Monday, September 23, 2013

Swindon Town vs Bristol City | County Ground, Saturday, September 21

● Bristol City’s Aden Flint rises to head his side into the lead against Swindon Town at the County Ground on Saturday

Pictures: Rogan Thompson

● City’s Scott Wagstaff holds off a challenge from a Swindon defender

EPB-E01-S3

● City head coach Sean O’Driscoll

● City’s Joe Bryan passes his way out of trouble against Swindon

● Brendan Moloney puts in a cross against Swindon Town

● Marvin Elliott looks for a pass

www.bristolpost.co.uk

Monday, September 23, 2013

5

Swindon Town vs Bristol City | County Ground, Saturday, September 21

● A City corner is played dangerously in to the Swindon penalty area

● City’s James O’Connor is carried off after suffering an injury

● Bristol City’s Jay Emmanuel-Thomas is beaten in the air by Swindon’s Grant Hall in Saturday’s 3-2 defeat

● The travelling City fans look on during Saturday’s game against Swindon

EPB-E01-S3

● City’s
players and
mascot meet
the officials
before the
game against
Swindon at
the County
Ground on
Saturday

6

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EPB-E01-S3

Fan’s view with
Dennis Payter
WE did deserve the point thanks
to our battling second-half performance. However, it was sad to
admit that at half-time we were
ready to settle for that draw even
though we were at home to
Hartlepool United.
We were so poor in the first
half, but our football was so
much better after the break
when we abandoned the big boot
tactics and played some decent
stuff, creating several chances
as we laid siege on the visitors’
goal.
Once again, we conceded from
a set piece as Tom Parkes and
Mark McChrystal struggled to
cope with the visitors’ attacks.
There seemed to be little understanding at the back as
Hartlepool carved us open far
too easily and once again the
left-hand post at the Blackthorn
End came to our rescue.
Steve Mildenhall kept us in
the game with some fine saves,
but I was surprised to read that
he thinks ‘football reports are
written by people who don’t appear to have an understanding of
what goes on in the game.’
That could be me Steve, but I
do understand that if you boot
the ball long and high neither
Mitch Harding nor Eliot
Richards are going to win it in
the air. I felt sorry for young
Harding, who hardly got a decent pass, although he did plenty
of running to chase the long
balls which I presume he was
brought in for.
Our best attacks, once again
stemmed from the in-form
full-backs Michael Smith and
Lee Brown, while Matt Harrold’s goal came thanks to a surging run down the flank from
Brown who opened up the
United defence.
Mildenhall might have seen
the light, because the best move
in the game came after he threw
the ball out and some quick
one-touch football ended with a
shot just wide when it was so
nearly the goal of the season.
Now our ‘keeper, who obviously knows more about the
game than me, started throwing
the ball out more and suddenly
we were looking a lot more positive as the introduction of Ellis
Harrison increased the pressure
on the visitors’ defence.
John- Joe O’Toole looked set to
be the villain of the day as he lost
the ball only for Mildenhall to
pull off a great save before
John-Joe turned hero with the
equaliser. It came soon after
Hartlepool should have gone 3-1
up as one of their big defenders
headed wide when unmarked
from a corner. How such a tall
defender can be unmarked at a
corner is beyond me and our
defending in these situations is a
constant worry.
Clearly more work is needed
on the training ground, and
maybe big Steve can use his
knowledge to organise things at
corners, while I have not been
over impressed with the arrival
of Andy Bond. If he is going to
play wide then we might as well
stick with Harrison or Alefe
Santos.

A point halts the run of
defeats for Ward’s men
SCORING a last-minute goal to secure a draw at home against Hartlepool United may certainly not be a
cause to bring out the bunting – but
John-Joe O’Toole’s 90th-minute leveller did, at the very least, serve to
make for a slightly more relaxed atmosphere at John Ward’s post-match
press briefing.
It was hard to disagree with Ward
as he waxed lyrical over his players’
‘attitude’ and ‘mental toughness’ to
halt a recent losing streak that was on
the verge of being extended to four
games, but those words would have
certainly carried less credence had
Rovers slipped to another defeat.
Had the result been different, supporters, too, would possibly have
been less willing to recognise the
vast-improvement in performance –
particularly in the second-half – that
finally offers Ward something positive to build on following recent defeats.
Aside from the collective, there
were also plenty of individual bright
spots to ponder; Lee Brown produ-

“

...............................................................

We didn’t get the three points,
but, at least people will go
home thinking that if we play
like we did in the second-half all
the time we will be alright

cing his finest display of the season;
Matt Harrold appearing to be overcoming his recent struggle for fitness,
while Tom Lockyer was impressive
on his return to the side alongside
O’Toole in central midfield.
Andy Bond, too, looks as though he
may be a useful addition in an attacking sense – even if he lacks the
raw pace of an out-and-out winger
down the right-hand side – while
Michael Smith and Steve Mildenhall
remain consistent performers among
the relative inconsistency of others.
That said, however, Ward was not
shying away from the fact that some
problems still need to be addressed if

James

McNamara
Expert analysis
Bristol Rovers

2

Hartlepool

2

Rovers are to perform to a standard
that reflects the quality of the squad
on paper.
The players fell well below that
standard during an opening period
where they huffed and puffed, but
lacked the quality when in charge of
the football to find a meaningful passage towards Hartlepool’s goal.
Hartlepool, meanwhile, warmed to
their task the longer the game remained goalless and, orchestrated by
experienced
central
midfielder
Simon Walton, looked the more likely
to break the deadlock.
Winger Jonathan Franks was also
offered too much time and space on
the edge of the penalty area to wrap
the post with another effort before
Rovers managed to finally edge in
front – somewhat unsurprisingly as a
result of a moment of individual brilliance amid the mediocrity of the
collective – when Harrold took the
ball deftly on his chest before executing a neat pirouette and finish all
in one sharp movement to score his
first goal of the season.
If the players thought scoring the
opening goal was a case of ‘job done’,
however, they were offered a rude
awakening immediately from the restart; left-back Jack Crawford aiming
a diagonal on to the head of Andy
Monkhouse, which was flicked into
the path of excellent young striker
Luke James, who equalised with a
clinical shot from the edge of the box.
Minutes later, the set-piece lethargy
that has resulted in three goals
against in the last fortnight reared its
head again to offer James the chance
to grab his second goal of the day

when turning on a sixpence to smash
the ball in after it had been swung
into the six-yard box following a short
cor ner.
Ward, however, was quick to point
to individual error rather than any
deep-rooted problem when asked
about Rovers’ recent run of poor form
when defending set-pieces; the perceived offender on this occasion
seemingly Richards, if Mildenhall’s
angry dash to the edge of his own
penalty area to remonstrate with the
striker was anything to go by.
The manager gave those who had
got themselves in such a mess an
opportunity to atone for their sins by
refraining from major change at
half-time – although Mitch Harding,
who had been handed a surprise start
up front for the first time since the
opening day of the season, and
Richards, who had been moved out
wide, swapped places in a move that
served to offer Rovers greater attacking threat.
Harrold deflected a stinging
Richards shot on to the crossbar and
Brown had an effort cleared off the
line as Rovers played higher up the
pitch and switched their mode of
attack from one of long punts in the
general direction of their strikers to
one of keeping the ball on the floor
and moving it regularly into wider
areas. Even then Rovers required a
good save from Mildenhall to deny
James the opportunity to kill the
game off after O’Toole’s pocket had
been picked late on, while defender
Christian Burgess also missed a
gilt-edged chance to score with a
header. That would have been harsh

● Bristol Rovers’ striker Matt Harrold fires in
in the face of Rovers’ vastly-improved
and dominant second-half display,
however, and last-gasp reward eventually came when O’Toole arrived
late to carefully steer Brown’s cross
into the net in the final minute.
“We didn’t get the three points, but,
at least people will go home thinking
that if we play like we did in the
second-half all the time we will be
alright,” Ward said in his final analysis.
The biggest challenge this week
will be to find a way of reproducing
that form against Southend United
on Friday night.
Read James’ stories by
following JamesMcNamara
at www.bristolpost.co.uk

Match reaction
STRIKER Matt Harrold hopes
John-Joe
O’Toole’s
last-minute
equaliser to secure a draw against
Hartlepool United at the Memorial Stadium on Saturday will be the catalyst
to drag Bristol Rovers
out of their recent
slump.
O’Toole pounced to
score a 90th-minute
equaliser
after
a
first-half brace off the
boot of striker Luke James
looked as if it was going to be
enough to see Hartlepool claim
their second successive league vic-

tory of their League Two campaign.
The midfielder’s strike was
enough to end Rovers’ recent
three-game losing streak,
and when asked whether
the goal could prove to be
a turning point, Harrold, pictured, who
had opened the scoring with what was his
first goal of the season,
replied: “I hope it will,
but we need to go on
from here.
“We have to build on this
performance when we go to
Southend on Friday night.

“That will be a tough game for us,
so we have to go there with the same
sort of determination and positivity
we showed as a group today if we are
to bring something back home.
“The only disappointment for me
is that I really felt the game was there
for us to win and I think we have
dropped two points.
“We must have got about 20 crosses
into the penalty area and threatened
their goal a hell of a lot in the second
half.
“A point is a point, though, and any
point is a good one when you have
been on a bad run.
“The last couple of weeks have not

W:11.4434cm H:4.97cm

● Bristol Rovers and Hartlepool United take to

7

www.bristolpost.co.uk

Monday, September 23, 2013

Player Rating (out of 10)

es in his side’s first goal in the 2-2 draw against Hartlepool United at the Memorial Stadium

Pictures: Neil Brookman

● Steve Mildenhall: The save to deny Luke James a
hat-trick in the second-half was crucial in Rovers’
efforts to end the day with a point

8

● Michael Smith: No messing about when in
defensive situations and was a constant and
consistent attacking outlet down the right flank

8

● Tom Parkes: Made a couple of decent tackles and
drove out with the ball from the back on occasion

6

● Mark McChrystal: Had a tough afternoon up
against a tricky performer in the shape of striker James

6

● Lee Brown: Played a part in the build-up to both
goals. Probably his best game of the season

8

● Andy Bond: Hasn’t got the pace of an out-and-out
winger, but has a nice touch and was involved in a
number of chances created from the flanks

7

● Tom Lockyer: Made a welcome return to the side
and produced a disciplined display alongside O’Toole
in the middle of the park

7

● John-Joe O’Toole: In the right place at the right
time to score a last-minute equaliser that could prove
vital in helping Rovers out of their current malaise

7

● Mitch Harding: Struggled to impose himself on the
game in the first-half, but wasn’t helped by a lack of
suitable service

6

● Eliot Richards: Criticised for failing to close down a
short corner from which Hartlepool scored their
second goal – but better in second-half

6

Star man

8

● Matt Harrold: Has struggled for fitness, but looked
his usual self on Saturday. Scored a brilliant goal and
was a constant menace with his aerial prowess

been good for us, so the club as a
whole is not as happy as it would be if
we were doing better.
He added: “We know the script.
This is my third season at the club
now and we know we have to try to be
nearer to the top (of the league) than
the bottom.
“We have to deal with those kinds of
things and be strong mentally and
show the character to battle through
when we are in a bad spell.
“When things do go well we know
everyone will be behind us and really
special things can happen – we saw
that last season.”
Harrold, meanwhile, opened the

scoring with a clinical finish after
taking the ball out of the air with a
deft touch off his chest and was
pleased to have made amends for
missing a chance to equalise from the
penalty spot before Rovers went on to
lose at Dagenham & Redbridge last
weekend.
“It’s a relief to get off the mark for
the season and I’m pleased to have
scored to make up for missing the
penalty last week,” he said.
“I held myself a bit responsible for
us losing the game at Dagenham, so I
felt I had something to prove. I was
desperate to score and to help the
team get something from the game.”

● Rovers players show their relief after John-Joe O’Toole’s 90th-minute equaliser against Hartlepool United

● Another chance goes begging for Bristol Rovers against Hartlepool

EPB-E01-S3

● Rovers’
fans show
their
appreciation
as the players
take to the
field against
Hartlepool on
Saturday

10

www.bristolpost.co.uk

Minute by
minute

29
38
40
54
60

London Scottish,
who had defended
for most of the
game, hit back
when Miles
Mantella scores in
the corner and Lee
Millar converts –
7-7
Scottish ensure a
half-time lead
when Millar
knocks over a
drop goal from
more than 30
metres – 7-10

Bristol retake the
lead through a
penalty try
following a scrum,
which Jarvis
converts – 14-10

James Merriman
goes over for
Bristol’s third try,
with Jarvis again
converting – 21-10

66

Millar hits back for
Scottish with a
long-range penalty
following a scrum
– 21-13

72

Mike Doneghan
sets up Millar for
Scottish’s second
try, but the fly-half
hits the post with
the conversion
attempt – 21-18

76
80
EPB-E01-S3

After dominating
the early stages
without being able
to force a score,
Marco Mama
bursts over from
close range, with
Adrian Jarvis
converting – 7-0

Jarvis gives Bristol
some breathing
space again with a
penalty from 22
metres – 24-18

Glen Townson
dives over in the
dying seconds to
give Bristol the
bonus point they
had craved –
Jarvis converts –
31-18

Monday, September 23, 2013

Bristol vs London Scottish | Memorial Stadium, Sunday, September 22

Bristol show attacking
intent to open account
BRISTOL got their GKIPA Championship season underway at the
second attempt with a performance
that brimmed with attacking intent,
even if it was not quite matched with
cutting edge.
That said, a bonus point was secured, thanks to the hosts’ four tries –
three of which were scored by forwards, the other courtesy of a penalty
try earned by said pack.
The performance was by no means
perfect – but the signs were encouraging, as Bristol dominated long
spells of territory and possession.
Aspects of their play will have concerned their coaches – notably the
ease with which London Scottish
carved them open to score two tries,
and the fact they bossed the first half,
but still trailed at the interval.
However, one thing shone through:
Bristol’s mindset was different to
how it had been in their opening-day
defeat against Cornish Pirates.
They were not willing to settle for
keeping the scoreboard ticking over
with penalties – they wanted tries.

“

...............................................................

I thought we set the pace in the
game really well in the first 20
minutes.

Andy Robinson, the director of rugby,
has highlighted how his team need to
take more try-scoring bonus points
than last season – and it showed in the
way they tried to play the game.
In doing so, Bristol displayed
bravery. Not the physical bravery that
is a given at this level of rugby, but an
attacking bravery, to keep going for
the jugular even when they were
being repelled by a physical and
well-drilled Scottish defence.
It would have been easy for the
hosts to play it safe, and take the three
points when they came on offer, but
Bristol – with several incisive backs
still to return from injury, have made
it clear they believe attack is the best

Steve

Cotton

Expert analysis
Bristol

31

London Scottish

18

form of defence. Flanker James Merriman, who scored the third of their
four tries, said: “I thought we set the
pace in the game really well in the
first 20 minutes. We want to give
ourselves a bit of a brand of rugby –
and we went all-out at them.
“I think we’re going to do a lot of
that this season, and try to dictate
that first 20 minutes and really set
our stall out. We have to attack teams.
We can’t really afford to sit off them –
we’ve got to really set the tempo in the
first 20 minutes of these games. We
feel if we can do that, teams are going
to drop off in that last 20 minutes,
which showed today.
“Getting the bonus point was crucial for us. I said to the boys when I
went off that we had to get that bonus
point – and we got it, which I think
that could make a big difference come
the end of the season.”
Quite how Bristol did not lead at
half-time was something of a mystery.
Scottish did not carry the ball into the
Bristol 22 until the 32nd minute of the
game – and, when they eventually
did, they conceded a penalty.
However, on their second visit,
after James Grindal’s forward pass
had given away possession, Jim
Thompson chipped through for Miles
Mantella to score. When Lee Millar
converted, it was 7-7, after Marco
Mama had opened the scoring for
Bristol in the 29th minute.
Scottish did incredibly well to keep
their hosts out until that point –
thwarting wave after wave of attacks.
But when Merriman was stopped just
short on the right, and Adrian Jarvis

and Luke Eves combined on the left,
Mama proved unstoppable.
Bristol, as baffling as it seemed,
trailed at the break, following Millar’s drop goal – but the second half
belonged to the hosts.
It was not necessarily pretty – their
three second-half tries were more
about grunt and grit than guile and
grace, but their attacking intent remained, except for one occasion
when Jarvis slotted a penalty to turn
a 21-18 lead into 24-18 with four
minutes to play.
Before that, though, Bristol had
forced a penalty try from a scrum,
before Merriman was driven over
from a line-out. While their running
game was at times predictable, the
set-piece proved a useful attacking
tool throughout the afternoon. And
Robinson has made it clear that he
wants his team to have balance and
variety in their attacking options.
Their lead of 21-10 became 21-18
after Millar went over when Mike
Doneghan was allowed to dance
through the Bristol defence following
a quickly-taken line-out, before the
fly-half sent over a penalty.
But Jarvis’s late penalty gave the
hosts breathing space, before replacement lock Townson was set up by the
quick thinking of fellow replacement
Ruki Tipuna – who livened up his
team – to go over for an all-important
fourth Bristol try.
Bristol will play better this season –
but they have made their intentions
quite clear: opposing teams will be
asked a variety of questions when
they visit the Memorial Stadium.

● Bristol lock Mark Sorenson

Key incidents
BRISTOL got their season up and
running with a bonus-point victory
over London Scottish at the Memorial Stadium – scoring three
second-half tries.
After dominating the first half,
without taking full advantage, Bristol somehow trailed 10-7 at the
break.
But they were much more clinical
in the second period – and, although
Scottish came back to within three
points with eight minutes to go, Glen
Townson went over in the final play
to grab the bonus point.
After Marco Mama’s first-half
score, Bristol were granted a
second-half penalty try, before James
Merriman and Townson crossed. Adrian Jarvis finished with a 100 per

cent kicking record, adding 11 points
in the process.
Despite Bristol’s early pressure,
the match was pointless until the
29th minute, when – after repelling
wave after wave of home attacks – the
visitors had no answer to a slick
Bristol move. Merriman went close
on the right, before Jarvis and Luke
Eves worked the ball wide to Mama,
who burst over from close range.
But, on only their second foray
into the Bristol 22, Scottish drew
level. James Grindal’s forward pass
conceded the attacking initiative,
and Scottish quickly worked the ball
wide, with Jim Thompson sending
through a kick, which was chased by
pacy winger Miles Mantella. He
gathered possession and dived over,

with Lee Millar converting from the
touchline to make it 7-7.
Two minutes later, Scottish took
the lead when Millar sent over a drop
goal from more than 30 metres to give
his side a 10-7 advantage.
Bristol’s scrum power earned
them a penalty try 14 minutes after
the restart, before Merriman was
driven over from a line-out.
Millar’s penalty brought Scottish
back into it a 21-13 – before the
fly-half finished off a pacy break
from Mike Doneghan by going over
in the corner. He was unable to convert his own try, and Jarvis soon
increased the lead with a penalty.
In the final minute, Ruki Tipuna
ran a penalty and Townson powered
over, with Jarvis converting.

Leaders Nailsea sweep
aside Shire challenge
NAILSEA United continue to set the
pace at the top of the Premier Division after a 4-1 home victory
against previously unbeaten Shirehampton.
Louis Keane gave Nailsea, the defending champions, the lead shortly
before half-time with a close-range
finish.
Shirehampton, who had scored 24
goals in their previous three games,
equalised in the 52nd minute when
Kyle O’Donovan beat Nailsea goalkeeper Scott Kendall at the second
attempt.
A 67th-minute cross-shot from
Keane put Nailsea back in front, and
he completed his hat-trick 11 minutes
later when he fired a shot past Shirehampton goalkeeper Mark Winkler.
Skipper James Lee completed Nailsea’s victory with a superb strike in
the 89th minute.
Third-placed Clutton had a 3-2
home win against Fry Club, and
fourth-placed Stockwood Green
went down 2-0 at Ilminster Town.
Cutters Friday put a disappointing start to the season behind them

with an 8-2 home success against
bottom side Odd Down Reserves.
Nailsea Town suffered a 3-0 defeat
at Bridgwater Town Reserves, while
Yatton and Berrow battled out a goalless draw.
In Division One, second-placed
Broad Plain House were 3-0 winners
at Congresbury, while fifth-placed
Wrington/Redhill maintained their
unbeaten record with a 6-1 hammering of Clevedon United.
Wrington’s goals came from Neil
Andow (2), Simon Riggs, Wes Bracey,
Jake Murray and Joe Berry, while
Dan Fowler netted for Clevedon.
● Tytherington Rocks lost 2-1 at
Clanfield to suffer their first defeat of
the Hellenic League Division One
West season.
The home side went 2-0 up, thanks
to a headed goal from Adam Pendle
and a penalty from Steve Olphert,
before Stuart Nelson scored a
spot-kick to pull a goal back.
Tytherington’s misery was compounded by the 70th-minute dismissal of Adamo Missiato.

Calor Southern League

Powell pounces
as Mangos sink
Supermarine
Mangotsfield United

1

Swindon Supermarine

0

AN error by Supermarine’s Jake
Johns gifted Mangotsfield the points
in Division One South & West.
Second-placed Supermarine enjoyed the greater possession before
the break, but Mangotsfield’s defence
worked hard to contain the visitors.
Super marine’s best chance came in
the 51st minute when Kayden Jackson broke down the right and his low
ball was met by Sam Morris, whose
shot was superbly saved by Mangotsfield goalkeeper Kevin Sawyer.
The hosts came into the game as
the second half progressed, and they
were rewarded in the 73rd minute,
when Johns casually played the ball
across the penalty area, only for it to
be intercepted by Lewis Powell, who
slid his shot past goalkeeper Kent
Kauppinen.
Soon after, Mangotsfield almost
scored again when a volley from Dave
Stone struck the crossbar and Powell’s follow-up effort was saved by
Kauppinen.
Despite late pressure from Supermarine, Mangotsfield held on for
their second win of the season, which
lifted them to 16th in the table.

CLEVEDON chalked up their first
victory of the season against fellow
strugglers Guildford to get off the
bottom of the Division One South &
West table.
The hosts were given a massive
boost during the first half, when City
goalkeeper Will Dukes was dismissed
for handling the ball outside his penalty area.
Guildford defender Ryan Bernard

took over between the posts for the
ten-men visitors, and kept his goal
intact until two minutes before the
interval.
Danny Wring created an opening
for Joe Flurry and his shot found the
net via the body of stand-in goalkeeper Bernard.
Clevedon doubled their lead four
minutes into the second period when
Reeko Best played in Matt Thorne
and he chipped Bernard in style.
Alex Afful and Oli Barton had
chances for the visitors before George Bowerman pulled a goal back on
75 minutes, but the home side comfortably held on.

● Mangotsfield goalscorer Lewis Powell gets a

Gloucestershire County League

Calor Southern League

Patchway knock unbeaten Longlevens off perch

Win takes Yate above rivals

PATCHWAY became the first team
this season to inflict defeat upon
reigning champions Longlevens.
The Gloucester side slipped off the
top of the table following their 1-0
defeat, which came when Dave Rich
turned John Pugsley’s 30th-minute
effort into his own goal.
Gala Wilton took over at the summit after they triumphed 1-0 at
Bishop’s Cleeve Reserves.
Henbury needed to forge ahead
four times before finally seeing off
Bristol Telephones 4-3, the hosts
hitting three swift equalisers in a

Cinderford Town

1

Yate Town

2

thrilling encounter. Craig Davis’
early opener was cancelled out by
Jack Fillingham, while Ben Griffiths
did likewise after Aaron Anglin had
put Henbury back in front.
Anglin’s second was matched by
Dani Golding, but Davis struck the
decisive blow from the penalty spot
with five minutes left to play.
Ellwood almost blew a three-goal
lead at home to Chipping Sodbury
before running out 5-2 winners.
Darryl Addis and Mike Nelson
built up a two-goal advantage by
half-time and Derek Roberts made it

three before Kyle Ford and Jason
Bradford replied for the visitors.
The hosts sealed the win with goals
from Jon Bowdler and Lee Scotford.
Frampton won 5-1 in their derby
clash at Berkeley, while Yate Reserves were beaten 3-0 at home by
King’s Stanley.
Thornbury remain the only team
without a point, as they were beaten
2-1 at home by Kingswood, Toby Bennett scoring their goal.
Rockleaze and Hanham drew 0-0,
while Bristol Academy host Southmead this evening.

YATE leapfrogged mid-table opponents Cinderford with a hard-fought
win in Division One South & West.
The home side went close early on
when Martin Horsell saved from
Lewis Sommers, while Alex Harris
denied Mike Bryant and Lewis
Haldane at the other end.
Bryant put a chance wide and

Ricky Hulbert fired over, but Yate
made the breakthrough through
Haldane in the second half.
The former Bristol Rovers forward
continued his fine run in front of goal
when latching onto a header from
team-mate Jordan Rogers.
Greg Lewis was thwarted by
Horsell at the other end before Bryant
doubled the advantage with a header
from Ross Staley’s free-kick.
Andy Lewis pulled a goal back for
the Foresters, but Horsell refused to
be beaten again as Yate secured all
three points at the Causeway.

www.bristolpost.co.uk

Monday, September 23, 2013

13

Skrill South

Russell watches
as Bath slide to
home defeat

● Mangotsfield players celebrate Lewis Powell’s goal

gets a shot away

● Mangotsfield’s Ashley Williams on the charge

Bath City

0

Dover

2

BATH City slipped to a second successive defeat as their miserable
week continued.
There was a surprise name on the
City bench – 40-year-old Alex Russell,
who last featured for the club in April
2012 and spent last season at Clevedon Town before announcing his retirement from the game in March.
The visitors were the first to settle
and produced the opening chance,
with Nathan Elder shrugging off Will
Salmon and firing in a stinging shot,
which Jason Mellor tipped over.
Thomas Murphy then placed an
effort millimetres wide of the post
from the edge of the box, while Mellor
again came to the rescue by pushing
Rogers’ dipping 25-yard strike over
the bar as Dover turned the screw.
The breakthrough came from the
subsequent corner. Mellor managed
to claw it away under pressure, but
when Tom Wynter played the ball
back in, the keeper was beaten by
Elder’s header.
Lee Howells was clearly unhappy
with what he had seen and made a
switch for the second half, with Joe
Burnell going on in midfield for the
ineffectual Ben Adelsbury.
City finally produced their first
shot at goal in the 52nd minute, when
Dave Pratt’s angled drive was pushed
out by Mitch Walker as far as Stearn,
but he couldn’t keep his shot down.
City were slightly better in the
second half, but were still struggling
to create chances, prompting another
change with 16 minutes to go, when
Chris Allen came on for Noah Keats.
And the substitute was involved in
City’s best chance, earning a corner
and then putting it into the area. It
was flicked on and fell to Will Salmon
in the six-yard box but his header
dropped onto the bar.
Another set-piece, this time a
free-kick, led to a half-chance as
Pratt’s downward header missed the
outstretched foot of Dan Ball.
Dover keeper Walker was flapping
at every cross, but City were unable to
test him often enough.
Mellor was City’s best player, but
he was unable to prevent Dover doubling their lead five minutes from time
as Modeste’s cross was nodded home
at the far post by Thomas Murphy.

Calor Southern League

Skrill South

Five-star Rovers go back to top

Weston still unbeaten after stalemate in Sussex

Paulton Rovers

5

Merthyr Town

2

Whitehawk

0

Weston-super-Mare

0

WESTON extended their unbeaten
Skrill South run to five games on
their first visit to the Enclosed
Ground to face last season’s Ryman
League winners.
Although the home side had goalkeeper Chris Winterton sent off for
handling outside his penalty area ten
minutes into the second half, they

dug in well and hung on for a point.
Weston started strongly, forcing a
couple of early corners, and Tristan
Plummer’s effort came back off a post
after 11 minutes.
Minutes later, Kane Ingram had a
strong effort blocked from Ashley
Kington’s free-kick.
Whitehawk mounted their first attack on 22 minutes, when Danny
Mills headed over from Jake Robinson’s cross. Then Weston keeper Luke
Purnell brought off a fine save to deny
Hakeem Adelakun.
Whitehawk made a bright start to

the second half, with Robinson going
close, and then Sam Gargan hit the
underside of the Weston bar and Purnell managed to punch the rebound to
safety.
With the departure of Winterton,
Gargan took over in goal and the
home side went on the defensive,
pulling everyone behind the ball and
relying on occasional break-outs.
Near the end, Weston brought on
new signing Jake Harris, released by
Hereford United, and he forced Gargan to concede two late corners from
snap shots.

EPB-E01-S3

FIVE-goal Paulton returned to the
top of the table with a tremendous
display against fellow high-fliers
Merthyr in the Calor Southern
League Division One South & West.
Rovers took just five minutes to
make the breakthrough, James
Billing converting after Ben Lacey
had pulled the ball back.

Ian Traylor equalised for Merthyr
four minutes into the second period,
but Lacey scored a tremendous individual goal to restore the Paulton
lead two minutes later.
However, Paul Keddle levelled for
the Welsh side within 60 seconds, but
Billing then got his second goal.
Paulton built a two-goal cushion
with a little over 20 minutes remaining when Nick McCootie beat goalkeeper Craig Morris to the ball.
The hosts wrapped-up the victory
when Ollie Price arrived at the far
post to tap in from a corner.

14

www.bristolpost.co.uk

Monday, September 23, 2013

FA Vase and Toolstation League

Green resist
Roman advance
to seal Vase win
Keith Watson
epsport@b-nm.co.uk
LONGWELL Green held off a late
rally from opponents Roman Glass
St George to win their FA Vase
second qualifying round tie 3-2 at
Oaklands Park.
Playing on the newly-laid 3G surface at GFA headquarters, Longwell
Green took a two-goal lead into the
break courtesy of a Danny Hunt
double.
Alex Grimshaw added a third goal
before Ian Power and Mikey Golding
struck for the home side to make it a
tense finish, although Longwell
Green held on.
Winterbour ne also secured a 3-2
away win – Ben Dowdell, Karim
Rendall and Jack Rhys-Jones scoring
in the triumph at United Services
Portsmouth.
Hallen progressed with a 2-0 home
victory over Cowes, Tom Collett’s
penalty and an Ashley Bennett strike
both arriving after the interval.
Keynsham took the lead against
Ashton & Backwell through Joshua
Rice, but were beaten 3-1.
Almondsbury UWE beat Radstock 1-0 thanks to a Brett Agnew
goal, while the visitors had three men
sent off in a melee inside the last five
minutes.
Odd Down hammered Wootton Bassett 7-0, with Brad Norris scoring the
first two goals and Rory Kay adding a
third before the interval.
Norris completed his hat-trick
shortly after half-time before Kye
Simpson, Mike Baker and Rich Dawley inflicted further punishment
upon the hapless visitors.
Bristol Manor Farm came from

behind to beat Corsham, Pete Sheppard scoring the winner in extra-time
after George Brimson had cancelled
out Dan Lardner’s opener.
Cribbs slipped to a 2-0 home defeat
against Hamworthy, Greg Horlock
breaking the deadlock on 70 minutes
and Paddy Hester’s penalty making
the game safe late on.
Hengrove also slipped out of the
competition with a 1-0 home reverse,
against Laverstock & Ford, Elliott
Wykes scoring the only goal 20
minutes from time.
Bradford went through with a 4-2
victory over visiting Downton, Dan
King, Sam Jordan, with two, and
Kieran Baggs on target for the home
side.
Shepton Mallet, meanwhile, took a
3-1 win at Camelford with goals from
Ashley Wilmott, James Vincent and
Lee Davidson.
The Toolstation League will also
have continued representation in the
Vase from Warminster, who won 2-0
at Brockenhurst; and Willand, who
beat Sherborne 5-3.
Buckland progressed with a 2-0 triumph at Exmouth, while Barnstaple
must replay with Newquay, following
their 2-2 draw in the Cornish resort.
However, Slimbridge crashed out
4-1 at Farnham, Melksham lost 4-2 at
Folland and Street were beaten 2-1 at
home by Bovey Tracey.
Larkhall moved to the top of the
Premier Division table, following
their 3-0 home victory over previous
leaders Gillingham.
Tyler Sibbick’s penalty put the
hosts ahead at the break and goals
from Jamie Lyons and Ross Lye
wrapped up the points.
Bitton enjoyed a 5-0 home win over

● Danny Hunt, left, celebrates scoring for Longwell Green on Saturday
struggling Bishop Sutton, although
Jordan Richards’ goal was the only
one of the opening period.
Luke Bryan, Connor Britton and
Dave Pollinger were on target in the
second half, before Bryan completed
his double in scoring Bitton’s fifth.
Brislington and Cadbury Heath

drew 1-1, with the hosts coming from
behind to equalise in the second half
through David Peters after Matt Huxley had scored for Heath.
Bridport beat Ilfracombe 2-1, Chris
Luke replying to Stan Paxton’s leveller after Dan Wise had opened the
scoring from the penalty spot.

In the First Division, Wellington
scored twice in the last ten minutes to
win 2-1 at Oldland, who took the lead
through Jerome Ingram.
Simon Dennehy levelled matters
with ten minutes remaining before
James Clough grabbed the winner in
stoppage time.

● Dings hooker Dave Wheeler was one of the try scorers as his side came from behind to win their first game of the season

Dings

24

Taunton

17

John White
epsport@b-nm.co.uk
DINGS forwards’ coach Jason Forester admitted he drew a huge sigh of
relief following his side’s first win of
the season against Taunton Titans on
Saturday.
Crusaders lost their opening two
games against Southend and Chinnor and the former Wales and Newport
Gwent
Dragons
flanker
underlined the need for his players to
buck their losing trend and register
that all-important first victory.
He said: “We’ve got the monkey off
our back now, and I’m delighted for
the boys. If I’m brutally honest, we
were poor last week, and I don’t think

anyone will argue with that statement.
“We spoke all week about doing the
basics well – scrum, line-out, defence,
accuracy and all the little things, that
make a big difference. But it seemed
that it was just talk, judging by the
way we started the game – we just
didn’t front up in the first-half.
“But as the game went on, things
started falling into place. We grew in
confidence, and, especially during
the second-half, played some good
rugby. The first win of your campaign
is vital for building momentum and
confidence. We’re off the mark, so
now the focus shifts to building on
this performance and developing our
game-plan.”
Crusaders, in the end, deservedly
toppled the Titans, but few would
have predicted the final outcome
after the opening quarter, as the visitors dominated proceedings and
were by far the better side. Dings

looked woefully short of confidence,
ideas and application during a
low-key first-half, with even the normally reliable boot of full-back Mark
Woodrow misfiring, as the home side
struggled for inspiration.
Taunton
cruised
into
a
second-minute lead, when full-back
Conor Hartley strolled over for a try,
after brushing past some poor defending, allowing fly-half Gary Kingdom an easy conversion to make it
7-0.
The visitors were all over Dings,
and threatened to cut loose – they
doubled their lead thanks to a penalty
try on 18 minutes. But the Titans
line-out supply began to dry up,
largely due to the athleticism of
Dings flanker Matt Lane, who put in
an impressive performance on his
league début Time and time again,
Lane rose highest at the front of the
line-out to steal the visitors’ possession. The former Cleve flanker got

Picture: johnwhitemedia.co.uk

through a mountain of work in defence, and worked well alongside Sam
Steer and Mike Uren in the
back-row.
After missing his first two attempts
at goal, Woodrow found his radar, and
two successful penalty attempts saw
his side go into the break trailing 14-6.
Stern half-time words by the Dings
coaches appeared to do the trick, as
the home side re-emerged full of
vigour, and a new-found hunger. Wing
Ollie Reyland, another Dings débutante became increasingly involved in the game, and caused the
visitors plenty of problems with a
series of powerful charges along the
touchline. Crusaders rattled up 18
unanswered points, with tries by
hooker Dave Wheeler and replacement prop Josh Lloyd, plus two penalties and a conversion by Woodrow,
before Kingdom slotted a 70th-minute
penalty, to earn the Titans a losing
bonus-point.

CLIFTON moved to the top of the SSE
National League Two South table,
after their third straight victory of
the season.
Darren Lloyd’s side, fresh from
wins over Canterbury and Hartpury
College, continued their impressive
start to their campaign with victory
over newly-prompted outfit Ampthill.
Clifton director of rugby Lloyd, despite being delighted by his side’s
latest victory, believes that it’s too
early to talk about his team as genuine promotion candidates.
He said. “We were by no-means
perfect in the first-half, but we improved in the second-half, and this
group is beginning to understand
what
it
takes to
win tight
matches.
“They
(Ampthill) were
a well-organised side,
and will cause
plenty of teams headaches this season.
“We introduced a number of new
faces into the team, with Josh Goddard and Harry Goodfield doing well
for us today, and the rest of our youngsters getting better week on week.
“We’re not looking any further
than our game with Bishop Stortford
next week, and promotion is not
something that has entered our
thoughts.
“We’ve only had three games, and
there’s plenty of rugby to be played
between now and the end of the season. We’re just enjoying our rugby at
the moment, and looking forward to
next week’s challenge.”
For the second time this season,
Clifton came from behind to secure
the spoils with a magnificent
second-half display.
Prop Rupert Freestone, scrum-half
Matt Britton and wing George
Karayiannis added touchdowns to
the first-half try tally from impressive centre Will Pomphrey (2), pictured, and full-back John Mason,
while fly-half Charlie Foley added 12
points with the boot.
There was little to choose between
the sides during a tentative and mistake-ridden first-half.
The lead see-sawed, with neither
side able to dominate the other for
any length of time.
Clifton trailed 17-13 at the turnaround, but Freestone’s try early in
the
second-half
opened
the
floodgates, as Clifton dominated the
remainder of the contest, scoring a
further 17 points, while restricting
the home side to just two penalties
from Rory Teague.
Clifton play their first home game
to be played at Clifton College against
Bishop Stortford on Saturday
(2.30pm).

Monday, September 23, 2013

www.bristolpost.co.uk

Formula One

Cycling

Vettel closes in
on his fourth
successive title
Ian Parkes
epsport@b-nm.co.uk
SEBASTIAN Vettel was again in a
class of his own as he completed a
double
hat-trick
to
further
strengthen his grip on claiming a
fourth successive Formula One world
title.
In taking the chequered flag in
Singapore for the third consecutive
time under the lights of the Marina
Bay Street Circuit, it was also Vettel’s
third straight win this season after
recently triumphing in Belgium and
Italy.
With Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso
second, the Spaniard is now 60 points
adrift, with Lotus’ Kimi Raikkonen
98 down after he clambered into the
top three with a bad back and from
13th on the grid.
As for Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton,
he could only finish fifth behind Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg to
leave the Briton 96 points down on
Vettel.
Booed again on the podium, Vettel
said: “The start was quite hairy, I kept
the inside clear, but Nico went in too
deep (into turn one).
“I was able to get the place back,
which was crucial because we had
good pace, but then we had the safety
car.
“After that again we had the pace,
and the car was incredible, which
doesn’t happen by accident. It was a
pleasure to drive it around this crazy
track.”
Despite his increasing gap to
Alonso, Vettel added: “I’m not really
looking at the championship too
much, just enjoying the moment.”
Alonso was thrilled with his second
place as he said: “We knew we didn’t
have the pace, that we had to invent
something, and the first opportunity

Wiggins marches
to title in the
Tour of Britain

was at the start.
“This is a fantastic podium, a
second place that feels like a win. Red
Bull were too fast all weekend, so we
have to congratulate them for a fantastic weekend, and next we have to do
better.”
For a matter of seconds – and only
for a matter of seconds – Vettel was
second-best off the line as he had to
give way to Rosberg going into turn
one.
There would likely have been mil-

60
● The number of points
championship leader Sebastian
Vettel has over his nearest rival
lions around the world cheering such
a move, only for the joy to be
short-lived and give way to groans as
Rosberg’s momentum forced him to
cut the corner.
That allowed Vettel to sweep back
into the lead, and from there he put
the pedal to the metal and blazed
away into a four-second lead after just
two laps.
Behind the reigning three-times
champion Alonso produced another
of his storming starts, as he knows he
has to do these days given his car’s
shortcomings in qualifying.
From seventh on the grid, Alonso
powered past Lotus’ Romain Grosjean, Mark Webber in his Red Bull
and Hamilton.
Hamilton’s woes off the line saw
him also fall behind Felipe Massa in
his Ferrari, and although he managed to gain the place back, he went

17

● Sebastian Vettel shows he is still number one after the Singapore GP
beyond the track limits and was
ordered to cede position.
From that point on, even through
the first round of the pit stops, the
race became a procession featuring
precious little action.
That was until lap 25 when Daniel
Ricciardo made an astonishing error
as he ploughed the nose of his Toro
Rosso into the barrier at turn 18.

It sparked the ninth safety car period in six grands prix around this
track, and for a short while it at least
suggested Vettel’s cruise to the line
was in danger.
A number of drivers pitted for a
second time, including the likes of
Alonso, Grosjean, Massa, McLaren’s
Jenson Button, Raikkonen and Sergio Perez in his McLaren.

SIR Bradley Wiggins completed victory in the Tour of Britain yesterday
as Mark Cavendish won the 88-kilometre eighth and final stage in central London.
Cavendish triumphed in a sprint
finish at the end of 10 8.8km laps on
Whitehall after a near-perfect leadout
from Omega Pharma-QuickStep
team-mate Alessandro Petacchi.
Team Sky’s Wiggins, wearing the
leader’s gold jersey, rolled in safely in
the bunch to claim overall victory.
In claiming his first stage race triumph since the 2012 Tour de France,
Wiggins became the second British
winner in the 10th edition of the
race.
Jonathan Tiernan-Locke won the
Tour of Britain in 2012, earning a
move to Team Sky, which has now
won its home race at the fourth attempt.
Wiggins rode last year’s event,
abandoning with a chest infection
and after making a U-turn at one
point to go back to support Cavendish, then his team-mate.
After a challenging year – he withdrew from May’s Giro d‘Italia and
missed the defence of his Tour de
France title as Chris Froome won –
Wiggins is now in top form ahead of
Wednesday’s time trial at the Road
World Championships in Italy.
The final-day success for British
champion Cavendish, who also won
stage four in north Wales and stage
seven to Guildford, saw him claim
victory in the concluding stage of the
Tour of Britain for a third successive
year. It was his tenth stage win in the
race.
Wiggins and Cavendish’s ability is
well known, but the eight-day race
showed the depth of Britain’s talents,
with Simon Yates, riding for the British under-23 team, placing third overall.
Yates has had a memorable year,
winning the points race at February’s
Track World Championships and two
stages of the prestigious junior race
the Tour de l‘Avenir.

Rugby

Golf

Ashton revels in Saracens’ new way of thinking

Quesne’s birdie blitz claims win

SARACENS director of rugby Mark
McCall hailed “exceptional” Chris
Ashton as Bath were blown away
31-17 in their Aviva Premiership
match at Allianz Park.
Ashton failed to breach the whitewash – fellow England wing David
Strettle scored twice – but he was
highly influential with his running
off the ball and support work.
The 26-year-old, pictured, is fighting for his Test place and McCall has
seen enough in three matches this
season to know he should be involved
against Australia, Argentina and
New Zealand this autumn.
McCall said: “Chris judges himself
purely on whether he scores a try or
not, but for the last two weeks he’s
been exceptional.
“He’s taken a lot of stick over the
last 12 months or so for various aspects of his game, but he was brilliant

FRANCE’S Julien Quesne surprised
himself by claiming his second
European Tour title yesterday thanks
to a brilliant finish in the Italian
Open in Turin.
Quesne began the day four shots off
the lead and looked out of contention
when he ran up a double-bogey six on
the second, but birdied the fourth and
sixth and then stormed home in 31.
Quesne, whose previous win came
in the Open de Andalucia last year,
said: “I am very proud of this back
nine. My attitude was very good this
week and I think this is the key. To
enjoy a second win on the European
Tour is like a dream for me.
“After my double bogey I just kept
calm. I was thinking the winner
would be 15 under and I was only five
under. I thought ‘just keep working
and we will see what happens’.
“I am surprised to be here. The

clear at the Premiership summit and
have now scored 13 tries.
McCall added: “Our attacking system is different, we made a big
change in the summer to that
aspect of our game.
“We had a system that
was in place for three
years that we felt in the
summer was handicapping some of the players we have.
“We were looking for
something which got our
good ball carriers on the
ball more often. It’s much
more flexible.
“It’s a work in progress, we’re
nowhere near where we want to be
with it.
“But you can see often Schalk Brits
and the two Vunipolas got their
hands on the ball.”

flags were very difficult all week so it
was very difficult to make birdies and
easy to make some bogeys.”
The victory lifts Quesne to 41st on
the Race to Dubai – the top 60 qualify
for the season-ending DP World Tour
Championship in Dubai – while Higgins climbs from 163rd to 111th.
The top 110 after the Perth International in mid-October will keep
their playing privileges for 2014,
meaning if Higgins can advance further he will avoid a 14th visit to the
dreaded qualifying school.
Higgins, who had managed just one
previous top-three finish in more
than 200 European Tour events, birdied the 18th to match playing partner
Webster’s closing 68, the 2005 champion having threatened to claim his
second Italian Open title when he
holed from 60ft across the 17th
green.

EPB-E01-S3

against Bath. One thing he’s brilliant
at is scoring tries and that will happen, but his work on the ball, his
collisions and his kick chase were
at an international level.
“It was a wonderful tackle
on George Ford near the
end, but the way he did
things that aren’t that
sexy was important as
well.
“David Strettle is 4-1
up in tries after three
games, but Chris was exceptional. He’s hungry to
get better.”
Alex Goode – making his
comeback from shoulder surgery –
and Matt Stevens also crossed as
Saracens raced into a 31-3 half-time
lead that effectively secured a third
successive bonus-point win.
The London club are four points

18

www.bristolpost.co.uk

Monday, September 23, 2013

Premier League

Premier League

City run United
ragged with a
four-goal salvo
Manchester City

4

Manchester United

1

Post reporter
epsport@b-nm.co.uk
MANCHESTER City captain Vincent
Kompany played down the impact of
his side’s thumping 4-1 derby win
over rivals Manchester United.
Sergio Aguero’s brace and further
strikes from Yaya Toure and Samir
Nasri earned City a win which reflected their dominant performance.
The game rekindled memories of
their 6-1 away win over United in
their Premier League title-winning
campaign two years ago, but Kompany dismissed suggestions they had
made a “statement” in the title race.
He said: “I think you make a statement over the whole season. It’s too
early to say it’s a defining game.
“When we won 6-1 at Old Trafford, I
said we needed to stay humble, it’s
only three points.
“But it gives us all the confidence
and allows fans to celebrate for a
couple of days.”
Asked about why his side were so
dominant, Kompany said: “Maybe
the game meant a little bit more to us
than to them.
“We’ve been looking forward to it,
our fans have been speaking about it
for a long time and we needed to
win.
“We have a fantastic home record
and we know there is no reason we
should fear the opposition.”
Kompany’s manager Manuel Pellegrini said: “I’m very happy.
“The way we played is the way I
want this team to play, very similar to
against Newcastle. We played the way

we work all week.”
United’s consolation goal came via
a stunning Wayne Rooney free-kick
late on, while captain Patrice Evra
headed a corner by the England
striker against a post.
And Pellegrini said: “We went 4-0
up and Manchester United didn’t
have a really clear chance apart from
a beautiful free-kick by Rooney and
one corner.
“We have been playing irregular in
other games, but it is normal in this
moment of the season.
“This was a high test today and the
players had a great answer.”
Opposite number David Moyes admitted: “We didn’t play well, they
were better. They started much
stronger and quicker.
“We’ll get better, there’s a long season to go. We’ll put this behind us and
move on.”
Moyes accepted Toure’s goal just
before half-time, giving City the
two-goal cushion their first period
warranted, was crucial.
“Losing the second goal just before
half-time changed it and they came
out well again second half,” he said.
“Great credit to the lads that they
kept going, kept working away and
got a goal at the end.
“Wayne Rooney’s performance was
outstanding, he didn’t deserve to be
in a losing team.”
United have seven points from
their opening five games, having lost
to rivals City and Liverpool, and
Moyes repeated his unease at the
testing start allocated to his side by
the fixture computer.
“It could be a lot better but we did
say it was a difficult start,” he said.
“I said at the time I wasn’t convinced, the way the balls came out of
the Premier League bag, and I’m still
not.”

Mourinho tells
Mata to follow
Essien’s lead

● City’s Samir Nasri wheels away after hitting his side’s third goal

Premier League

EPB-E01-S3

A hard week at the office ends with victory for the Swans
Crystal Palace

0

Swansea

2

SWANSEA
manager
Michael
Laudrup was proud of his players
after a dominant victory at Crystal
Palace capped a “fantastic week”.
Despite less than 72 hours earlier
demolishing Valencia at the Mestalla,
the Welsh side showed no sign of a
Europa League hangover as they
eased to a 2-0 win at Selhurst Park.
Palace were left chasing shadows
from the outset, with Michu’s strike
after 80 seconds followed by a Nathan
Dyer effort moments into the second
half.
It could – and should – have been a
much larger margin of victory for

Swansea, with that the only frustration for manager Laudrup after
the match.
However,
following
Monday’s
hard-fought draw with Liverpool
and the win in Spain, the
Dane’s overriding emotion
was pride after winning at
Selhurst Park.
“It has been a fantastic
week,” Laudrup said.
“Before the start, I
thought this particularly would be the most
difficult game because it
was on the back of Liverpool
and Valencia.
“This was the third game in only
six days, with the travelling and all
that. You have to play an away game
here against a different type of football, more direct.
“I thought this was going to be the

most difficult game, so I am really
pleased with what the players did
today.
“It always helps when you score in
the first minute, but even so you
have to play over 90
minutes.
“I thought we really
dominated the game
from the first to the last
second.
“The only thing is,
we should have scored
more goals because we
had the chances to score
five or six like we had on
Thursday, but it is of course
difficult not to be pleased when
you win 3-0 and 2-0 in just three
days.”
One of the best performers in that
six-day period has been Michu, pictured.

After starring for Swansea last season, the 27-year-old began this season
comparatively slowly – until this
week, that is.
Michu netted against Liverpool
and Valencia, before producing a
man-of-the-match display in south
London.
“I don’t know if he is back to his
best, because what is his best?”
Laudrup asked. “I don’t look at him
as just a goalscorer because for me he
is not even a centre-forward. He has
always been an offensive midfielder
than can score goals, but can also play
as a centre-forward.
“I don’t look at Michu just as a
goalscorer so I don’t see it as a problem when he does not score for three
games.”
Michu’s form last season saw him
rewarded with a new and improved
four-year deal in January.

Chelsea

2

Fulham

0

CHELSEA manager Jose Mourinho
has told Juan Mata to follow the
example of Michael Essien in order to
convince him of his worth.
Ghana midfielder Essien, who
spent last season on loan at Real
Madrid under Mourinho, was not
named in Chelsea’s Champions
League squad and will on Tuesday
night make his first appearance of the
season at Swindon in the Capital One
Cup, when World Cup winner Mata
will also feature.
Mourinho has not been swayed by
Mata’s reputation as Chelsea player
of the year in each of the last two
seasons and demands more.
“He’s not the same as Essien,”
Mourinho said.
“Essien didn’t play one single
minute and I left him out of the
Champions League list.”
Mata’s projected appearance at the
County Ground will be his fourth of
the season for Chelsea, having failed
to convince Mourinho of his talents
in starts against Aston Villa, Everton
and a substitute appearance versus
Basle.
While Mata must deliver as an individual, Mourinho is also targeting
a collective improvement after ending a four-match winless run, and
bouncing back from successive defeats, with a 2-0 win over Fulham.
Others on the periphery will also
play at Swindon, including David
Luiz, Essien, Cesar Azpilicueta and
Ryan Bertrand, while the likes of
Oscar, Mourinho’s favoured playmaker, and Ashley Cole rest ahead of
Saturday’s London derby with Tottenham.
He added: “We have to work to
improve. Now the head is cleaner,
now we have to work on other
things.
“The boys who I give two days off,
they have to enjoy their little holiday.
“The beginning of the season was
quite hard for us.
“Now we have a period of four
consecutive matches away. We play
Swindon, Tottenham, Norwich and
Steaua (Bucharest) all of them away
from home.
“We have to prepare ourselves the
best we can. And everyone’s going to
play, because we have four consecutive matches.”
Oscar opened the scoring against
Fulham and John Obi Mikel netted
his third goal in 282 games for
Chelsea – his first in the Premier
League and his first since scoring
twice in successive rounds of the FA
Cup against lower league opposition
in January 2007.
Nigeria midfielder Mikel told
Chelsea TV: “I am pretty happy about
it. It has been a long time and the guys
have been killing me about it.
“They say you go to the national
team and score but you don’t score for
Chelsea so it was good for me to get
my first Premier League goal. I
scored in the FA Cup a couple of
times.
“I do practise scoring in training
sometimes, but I don’t get into the
positions often.”

Monday, September 23, 2013

www.bristolpost.co.uk

Premier League

Premier League

Marshall’s one-man mission ends
with a last-minute goal by Spurs

● Tottenham’s Brazilian midfielder Paulinho celebrates grabbing a late winner over Cardiff at the Cardiff City stadium yesterday

Cardiff City

0

Tottenham Hotspur

1

PAULINHO netted his first Premier
League goal in stoppage time to give
Tottenham victory and finally end
the resistance of Cardiff keeper David
Marshall.
Spurs dominated large sections of
the game at Cardiff City Stadium but
were denied on countless occasions
as the Scot made crucial saves from
Roberto Soldado, Christian Eriksen,
Paulinho and Gylfi Sigurdsson.
Even when former Swansea man
Sigurdsson did beat Marshall, pictured, his effort struck the crossbar,
but Paulinho finally made their dominance tell as he tapped in Erik
Lamela’s pass from close range to seal
a 1-0 win.
Cardiff created few clear chances
but felt they had twice come out on
the wrong end of decisions by the
officials.
The first came when Hugo Lloris
appeared to handle outside his area

as Fraizer Campbell attempted to
round him, although replays suggested it was a very tight call.
The second saw Ben Turner’s header from a corner chalked off after
Aron Gunnarsson was adjudged to
have impeded Lloris.
Although Spurs would take a
stranglehold on proceedings, Cardiff
made a purposeful opening, with
Kevin Theophile-Catherine heavily
involved on his home debut.
The Bluebirds should have led in
the seventh minute. Kyle
Naughton’s misdirected pass
was left by Michael Dawson,
but lacked the weight to get
back to Lloris.
Campbell pounced but he
was robbed of the ball as he
attempted to round Lloris on
the edge of the box, with replays suggesting the Frenchman had handled outside his
area.
Spurs boss Andre Villas-Boas had
bemoaned his side’s run of three
games in six days earlier this week,
but he need not have worried about
their ability to perform, as they
settled down and assumed control.

They crafted a fine chance for
Soldado, after a thrilling burst from
Andros Townsend, but Marshall was
able to turn the Spaniard’s shot
round the post.
Kyle Walker followed the winger’s
lead as he took off from inside his own
half on a run that took him into the
Cardiff box, where Ben Turner made
a crucial tackle.
Marshall soon found himself
severely overworked saving twice
from Eriksen, the second
coming after Turner
had recovered from
being horribly exposed by Soldado to
get a block in.
Sigurdsson also
stung
the Scotland keeper’s
palms,
but
Cardiff then enjoyed a
better spell up to
half-time, and they were aggrieved not to be leading at the
break.
Lloris’ poor control of a back pass
gifted Cardiff a corner, which Turner
headed in at the far post, but referee
Mark Clattenburg ruled the keeper

had been impeded by Gunnarsson. It
appeared a soft decision.
Cardiff ’s gradual improvement
continued at the start of the second
half, with Craig Bellamy racing clear
only for Lloris to cut out his pull-back
for Peter Whittingham.
But the hosts were again indebted
to Marshall moments later. Sigurdsson’s shot from the edge of the
box came back off the crossbar to fall
to Soldado in acres of space, but he
was again denied by the keeper’s legs.
Sigurdsson was involved once more
when he scampered round Theophile-Catherine to tee up Paulinho,
but again Marshall was up to the
task.
Cardiff boss Malky Mackay threw
on Peter Odemwingie in place of
Campbell for his debut, and the Nigerian almost enjoyed a dream start
as he curled wide of the left-hand
upright.
It proved a brief respite as Spurs
continued to pile on the pressure, but
Cardiff held firm as the game entered
the final 15 minutes.
Marshall could do nothing to keep
out the Brazilian’s final effort from
inside the six-yard box.

NO SUBSTITUTE.

BRISTOL’S PREMIER 5-A-SIDE SOCCER CENTRE

goalsfootball.co.uk

There’s more to
come from Ozil,
claims Wenger
Arsenal

3

Stoke City

1

MANAGER Arsene Wenger is in no
doubt there is more to come from
club-record signing Mesut Ozil after
watching the Germany playmaker
create all of his side’s goals in the win
over Stoke at the Emirates Stadium,
which sent Arsenal top of the
Barclays Premier League.
First Aaron Ramsey smashed in
his seventh goal of an impressive
season after Ozil’s fifth-minute
free-kick was parried by Stoke goalkeeper Asmir Begovic, but Geoff
Cameron swept in a deserved equaliser for the visitors.
However, the class of Ozil – signed
from Real Madrid on deadline day in
a £43million seal – proved the difference as his corner was flicked
home by compatriot Per Mertesacker
to give Arsenal the lead once more
before half-time, and then another
pin-point deadball delivery made
sure of all three points when Bacary
Sagna looped in a header on 72
minutes.
“I believe that once he is completely integrated we will see even
more of him, but he has shown today
that he is a great player,” said
Wenger.
“Ozil is a player, when you look at
his numbers, the assists are not a
coincidence, it is just the reality of his
game.
“You could see today he has a good
pace as well. At the moment he focuses a lot on his passing, but he can
create individually as well.”
Arsenal have responded with seven
straight wins since they were beaten
3-1 at home on the opening day of the
season – and if Ozil continues his
impressive displays, Wenger’s squad
could be set for a long-overdue sustained assault on the Premier League
title.
Wenger, though, moved to play
down any early talk of ending almost
a decade without a trophy.
He said: “Ozil gave a lift to everybody at the club and, for the rest, it
will be the quality of our teamwork
and our team play that will decide
that.
“The only thing of our position at
the moment is that we are in a position where we can focus on improvement in a stable environment,
so that is a good basis. For the rest,
[in] the table everyone is mathematically together.
“We have shown again another aspect as well, that we can dig deep and
fight when we are a bit under pressure. When the third goal went in, we
just kept the result.”
Theo Walcott suffered a minor abdominal strain during the warm-up.

I’m ready to tackle some old City and Rovers favourites in a charity match at Hallen

EPB-E01-S3

M

Y appearances on a
football pitch are
rapidly dwindling,
which is hardly surprising as I am now
in my fifties. I am
really too old to
even play in the over-35s games that I
get asked to participate in regularly
on Sunday mornings.
However, I have agreed to play in a
charity match that is being held this
Thursday at the home of Hallen FC.
Organiser Mark Jakeways is arranging for former players of Hallen
to take on a team of well-known
ex-Bristol City and Rovers favourites,
along with a sprinkling of local
celebrities that have appeared on television.

Dave
Payne
Writes for the
Green ’Un
I believe Mark is hoping to attract a
weather man, a chef and somebody
that has appeared in a reality television show.
If that doesn’t get the punters flying
through the turnstiles, I don’t know
what will!
Mark has created a poster advertising the match, with boobs and balls
being the strapline for parts of the

male and female anatomy that are
affected by cancer, which will benefit
from money raised at the event.
Glancing through the selected players representing Hallen on the night,
a few are very well known to me.
Goalkeeper Dave Mogg has been a pal
of mine since our junior school days,
where we played alongside each other
for Bristol Boys.
As a youngster, Dave was very popular at school with the ladies – the
dinner ladies that is! He would eat
anything put on his plate, so it’s not
surprising really that he’s in such
great shape nowadays!
I heard he had a real scare recently
– apparently, someone told him his
local kebab shop was closing down,
but thankfully it was just a rumour.

The last time we played in a charity
game together he could not even bend
down to pick the ball out of his net,
due to a chronic back problem. But, to
be fair to him, quite a few were
nestled in the corner, so it obviously
got painful after a while.
Another good friend of ours also
playing in the match on Thursday is
Grantley Dicks.
He played for Hallen at one time
during his playing career, but also
spent several seasons at Bath City. He
is now assistant manager at Hallen,
and is very vocal when barking out
instructions from the touchline. He
told me once that although he shouts
out a lot, it always makes sense to the
players. I believe that if he put three
letters in front of that word he would

be correct: non-sense! Funnily
enough, along with Dave and Grantley, I played in an over-35s tournament held in Barbados a decade or so
ago. What a fantastic time we had,
especially coming home as victors. I
can still recall the moment when we
arrived at our hotel.
Their faces both lit up when they
read the sign emblazoned in bright
neon lights, ‘All-you-can-eat buffet!’
The game kicks-off at 7pm at Moorhouse Lane, the home of Hallen, on
Thursday, when their new floodlights
will be switched on.
Afterwards, in the clubhouse, there
will be a memorabilia auction which
features some fantastic items. Please
come along to the game, where entry
is by donation.